Jingerwoppy

Looks like a magician was performing on a Royal Caribbean ship and was attacked by an unruly passenger. Didn't see the ship's name in the article but it looks like it's out of Australia.

"As a world-class magician, Ben Murphy (@thebenmurphy_) is used to surprising his audience with impressive tricks and illusions that leave them on the edge of their seats. But during a recent performance on a Royal Caribbean cruise, audience members weren’t the only ones left in shock during his act — so was Murphy when an unruly passenger allegedly assaulted him onstage."

8184. Still close to the elevators and stairs but not as much as the other. 

When we went on our Jan 30th on Radiance out of Galveston, we had a JS and were not allowed in  the suites line. Really didn't matter because everyone was just walking right through but it is a small ship. 

No thanks

When we were on Radiance a couple of weeks ago, the passengers received a compliment from the captain because everyone completed the muster on time. On our 4 cruises last year, there were always stragglers. . 

On 2/20/2023 at 3:37 PM, S.A.M.J.R. said:

If it's in the checked luggage, how do you cut the zip ties to get to it?

It's in the outside pocket. 

We always use zip ties on our luggage. May not be that secure but we've had our luggage damaged by TSA who clipped our pull-tabs even though we had a TSA approved lock. 

I always take my little swiss army knife through security. All my metallic items go into a bag and go through the scanner. Never a problem. If you wanted a long knife it would be easy enough to get from the dining room or windjammer.

I also take a small multi-tool and place it in my checked luggage. It has never been removed from the luggage. It has a combo pliers/wire cutter and I it's never been confiscated. I use it to cut the zip ties. 

No problems on numerous cruises. 

We were just on Radiance and our waiters were terrified of anything going wrong. One of their friends was fired because he brought more than 1 entrée at a time to the table for a person. New rule is 1 item at a time. We could also tell they were shorthanded. They had some problems getting things to us "on time" and even to the right person. We could see the stress and of course it transfers to us somewhat. We have never had an issue with staff to a point we could complain. The current menu however is a different matter and we actually skipped 2 nights because of the selections. 

23 hours ago, Starry Eyes said:

Are you going to compare the cost of drinks on board to your local retail prices, too?  I think you will find a much higher markup.

That would be too depressing. I can simply bring those water flavoring bottles that you squeeze into the water. Strawberry pineapple is great. I drink my free drinks and some of my wife's. 

23 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

And be sure to purchase some plates and silverware and a kitchen to cook them in.  Plus butter and lemon for serving.  

Bringing pre-cooked. I need to be able to sample several here for quality control purposes. 🙂 

I was in HEB today and saw 4oz lobster tails (North Atlantic) for $5.99. Same size as what Royal Caribbean has served in the past. That's a lot lower than $16.99 + gratuity. Maybe I should bring a bunch on board and sell them for $10 each. Make some moola to buy the wife some jewelry. 

We were on Allure in December and didn't wear a mask but there were a few who did. The cruisers would pack in the elevators and if you were in back you were trapped. People would get on and cough or sneeze. We came home with Covid.

We are leaving on Radiance next week and I will likely take a mask and wear it in the elevator if it gets crowded. My experience with Covid wasn't bad but I'm hoping that whatever protection the mask might add will help avoid my getting it again. 

9 hours ago, scottasp said:

I  signed up and received a 10:00 arrival time when we checked in. Then we got an email to come an hour later than your scheduled time. I am now in our hotel room in Texas City and RCCL says don't show up until noon but not later than 3. It could turn out to be a huge cluster flop if you ask me.

Even with the new terminal, RCCL really seems to be having issue handling a large ship in Galveston. 

Embarkation and debarkation are spotty. Embarkation seems to be easier than disembarkation unless you carry off your luggage yourself.  Also helps disembarkation if you're disembarking late but parked in the terminal parking lot. 

3 minutes ago, boozrcruzr said:

I kind of wondered about that. It looked like you go out the back way? or the other siide of the building? It's the wife's 60th so we got the Royal Suite. This only the 3rd time in a suite but I have to say it is the bomb as far getting on and off. I can see where a person could get spoiled real quick!

The area for the shuttles was very crowded because the shuttles were forced to use the same lanes as the cars dropping off passengers. Because of this, the shuttles weren't loading and departing as fast as the prior terminal. It's likely ok for a smaller ship (we sail on Radiance 1/30 and will find out) but I don't think it's set up well for Allure. Maybe it will improve with time and some rearranging of the traffic and shuttle stops. 

4 minutes ago, boozrcruzr said:

Awesome!! It looks very nice and the seating area looks much more comfortable.

When we sailed the week of Dec 4th, embarkation was ok but leaving the ship was horrible. 

There will be a sale just after the next price increase.

We use packing lists. 

What does an upside down liquor bottle mean on the door?

I thought maybe you saw a REAL discount price on a cruise.....

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I looked pretty hard and never saw any real birds. ..and I looked for them. I just got off sunday after 2 weeks. 

I liked the crickets at night. 

We got off of Allure on Dec 11th. Not many masks being worn onboard. Wife and I tested positive for Covid on Dec 13th. Many overcrowded elevators.

2 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I boarded then too and they definitely were boarding by loyalty tier. Agree. Not sure how they divided the sitting areas. Get off tomorrow. I hear it's cold in Galveston. 

Supposed to by 46 overnight and a little over 50 by 10am. No rain until late tomorrow night. 

When embarking on our Dec 4th cruise on Allure out of Galveston (new terminal), they were holding all first time cruisers in the waiting area and only allowed repeat cruisers to board for a while. I believe there were also some separate expedited lines likely restricted to suites and Key purchasers. 

On Monday, after this cruise, I started getting sniffles. On Tuesday they were a little worse. Since we had some Covid tests around, I decided to take one (haven't had Covid before). As soon as I took the test out, it turned positive.  🙂 Not really, but when I put the drops on the test strip, it showed positive in less than 30 seconds - a really bright line at that. Tried a 2nd just to make sure and it did the same. I had a little fever and a runny nose with a little bit of a sore throat but that was it until I went to bed Tuesday night.  I woke up about 11:30pm and my face felt like it was on fire. After drinking some water, I went to bed and I was back to sniffles and a sore throat a couple of hours later. Wednesday the dr put me on Paxlovid. My sniffles have almost subsided now.  Wife is also positive.

We believe we got this on one of the elevator rides. There were times when people really crowded in and a few people sneezed in the elevators we were in. 

As far as we know, there wasn't some huge outbreak onboard. 

I'm glad we finally got it. In the past, we dodged it a few times but I've been curious as to how it would affect us and now we know. And on top of that I won't have to drive into work for a couple of weeks.